Inside the Star

Probe Afghan role, Dion urges

QUEBEC CITY–With Afghanistan looming as a major issue in the next federal election, Liberals are trying to carve out a position that allows them to be sharply critical of the government's conduct of the war. But at the same time, party leader Stéphane Dion wants to avoid being painted as an advocate of pulling out Canadian troops.

Royal Canadian Dragoons rest after an operation Sunday at forward operating base Sperwan Ghar, 38 kilometres west of Kandahar. Some 2,500 Canadian soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan, where the mission’s relevance is seen as a federal election issue.

QUEBEC CITY–With Afghanistan looming as a major issue in the next federal election, Liberals are trying to carve out a position that allows them to be sharply critical of the government's conduct of the war. But at the same time, party leader Stéphane Dion wants to avoid being painted as an advocate of pulling out Canadian troops.

Dion announced yesterday that the Liberals will push for a probe by the Commons foreign affairs committee to shed new light on Canada's role in the Afghan conflict and to hold Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor to account.

"We want hearings about the situation in Afghanistan," Dion told a news conference wrapping up a three-day caucus retreat here.

The opposition has "no confidence at all in the capacity of this (Conservative) government" to construct a mission that balances military security with the need to rebuild Afghanistan, Dion said.

It's deplorable that Canada spent only $10 million in aid for the reconstruction effort last year, he said, especially when exactly how the money was spent is not known.

Liberals stressed their unified stance in demanding a full investigation of the conduct of the war.

Michael Ignatieff, labelled a hawk during his leadership bid last year, in part for his unbending support of the Afghan war, told reporters: "The key issue here is accountability. The key issue is to make sure the Canadian people know where the aid money is being spent, what the strategy is in respect of incursions from Pakistan."

In a reference to O'Connor's explanation last week that Canada is in Afghanistan seeking payback for the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the U.S., Dion said, "We are not there to seek retribution. We are in Afghanistan to help the population have greater security and to give itself, in the coming years, a functional government. We need to know if the mission is working well, what's really happening."

The Liberals, who first sent Canadian troops into the Afghan theatre, are steering clear of what Dion called the "shameful attitude" of NDP Leader Jack Layton, who is demanding that Canadian forces be pulled out of Afghanistan.

It's also clear that Dion will pursue a Liberal offensive on climate change in the coming weeks. Dion intimated his party would try to short-circuit parliamentary debate on the Conservatives' Clean Air Act, "for the very simple reason that we already have a clean air act. It is the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, CEPA, which gives us all the capacities to regulate the substances that we want. And we will request ... cap-and-trade regulations, strong and meaningful regulations for the industry about greenhouse gas emissions."

Dion voiced considerable skepticism that Harper would put together a credible plan but asked the government to come forward with new proposals.

Dion sought to play down comments he made to the Quebec City newspaper, Le Soleil, in which he appeared to suggest he would be willing to readmit former provincial Liberal cabinet minister Marc-Yvan C??té to the party. C??té admitted doling out $120,000 cash to campaign workers in eastern Quebec during the '97 federal election – in direct violation of electoral law.

Dion backpedalled at a news conference, insisting, "I have no recommendations to make ... I don't want to reopen this file."

Former prime minister Paul Martin banned C??té from the party for life – along with several other Liberals, including former Quebec lieutenant Alfonso Gagliano – in the fall of 2005.

C??té was fingered by the Gomery inquiry as one of the organizers who paid out money allegedly from kickbacks advertising agencies paid to win lucrative contracts promoting the federal government in Quebec after the 1995 sovereignty referendum.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.